Binders or holders for books



arch 19, N68 F. WANCE ETAL 3,373,749

BINDERS OR HOLDERS FOR BOOKS Filed Sept. 13, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIGZ. FIG.3.

di'iofrzgy March 19, 1938 F. WANCE ETAL 3,373,149

BINDERS OR HOLDERS FOR BOOKS Filed Sept. 13, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet? 5 39 FIG.7. 3a

FIG 8.45 37 '29 45 3 19 F "z I 7' I m 76"- u i ii ii 'i INVENTORS aiiorn y United States Patent 3,373,749 BINDERS 0R HOLDERS FOR BOOKS Frank Wance, Linden, and Rudolph A. Kraft, Westfield, N.J., assignors to S. E. 8: M. Vernon, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 13, 1966, Ser. No. 579,141 1 Claim. (Cl. 129-38) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A binder for relatively large books such a telephone directories, reference books and the like, the binder having a back and covers pivoted thereto. A hollow rectangular housing is attached to the inside face of the back at each of its opposite ends. A U-shaped wire retainer has legs fitted between the pages of the book and has its opposite ends protruding beyond the pages of the book. One of the housings has two holes into which the legs of the retainer, at one end, enter. At their opposite ends the legs are connected by an integral offset cross piece. Near the cross piece, portions of the legs enter the second housing and a spring-biased latch contained within the second housing extends over these portions of the legs. The latch is retractible to free its engagement with the retainer by a key that is entrant through a slot located between the second housing and the back of the book.

This invention relates to binders or holders for books and more particularly for relatively large books, such as telephone directories, reference books and many other similar types.

It is an object of the invention to provide a binder or holder of this character in which the contained book or books will be securely held and protected. It is an object of the invention to provide a binder or holder in which the accommodated book or books will be locked against unauthorized removal from the binder. It is an object of the invention to provide a locking means for the binder which cannot be readily picked or broken open.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a binder which will be of sturdy construction to thereby accommodate and protect thick and heavy volumes and which will be capable of withstanding hard usage.

More particularly, the invention contemplate the provision of a binder or holder having a back with covers pivoted thereto; the back having housings on its inside face adjacent to its opposite ends, of a wire book-retaining frame fitted between the pages of the book to be accommodated in the binder, and with portions of said frame protruding beyond the opposite ends of the book. The protruding parts of the frame at one end of the book pass through holes in the first of the housings and enter said housing. The protruding end at the opposite end of the book enters into the second housing through slots provided therein, and a slidable, spring-biased latch member in the latter housing crosses the parts of the frame that are located therein, thereby coupling the frame to said housing. A key is provided for entry into the latch-containing housing by which the latch can be retracted or depressed from its frame-engaging position, said key being of special shape and the latch also having specially shaped elements so that the latch cannot be retracted or unlatched except by the use of the special key provided for it.

With these and other objects to be thereinafter set forth in view, we have devised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularly pointed out in the claim appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed,

FIG. 1 is a face view of the inner side of the central portion of a binder or book holder made in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the book-retaining wire frame;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational View of the same;

FIG. 4 is a view looking at the under side of the detached housing for the latch, with the housing turned upside down and with the latch and the spring therefor shown in place;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the latch;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the particular housing which receives the spaced-apart ends of the wire bookretaining frame;

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of the latch housing, looking at the inner face of the same;

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view through the latch housing and contained latch, showing how the latch is moved to open position by the use of a special key;

FIG. 10 is a face view of the key;

FIG. 11 is a side view of the key;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a relatively large and thick book, with the wire retainer frame inserted in the book near the back thereof and in readiness for the insertion of the retainer frame in the binder mechanism, and

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the latch housing.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is therein shown a portion of a binder or holder in which the present improvements are incorporated. The binder includes a central back portion or spine 1, composed of stiff and sturdy material and possibility reinforced by a suitable metallic plate for stiffness and strength.

Pivotally connected to the back 1 are covers, parts of which are indicated respectively at 2 and 3. The pivotal connection between the back 1 and the covers is established by means of lengthy hinges 3a and 4. The leaf 5 of each hinge is attached to its adjacent cover by means of the rivets 6 or other suitable similar fastening elements, while the leaf 7 of each hinge is attached to the back 1 by the rivets 8 or other equivalent fastening means. The back 1 is made in substantial width so that it enables a relatively thick book or several books, such as telephone directories, reference books or the like, to fit between the covers 2 and 3 and be held and maintained in position in the binder.

Mounted on the back 1 at one end thereof is a rectangular hollow casing or housing 9 which has an inner wall 31 formed with a forwardly-extending foot or flange 11 attached to the back 1 over the hinges 3a and 4 by means of riviets 12 or other fastening elements passing through the holes 10a. The housing 9 is thus firmly attached to the back 1 and is reinforced by the hinges.

Slidably mounted within the housing 9 is a latch member or catch 13, shown in detail in FIG. 6. It will be there seen that the latch member consists of a metallic strip 14 formed with a pair of spaced bayonet slots 15, 16. At one end the strip 14 is bent at right angles to form a lug 17 constituting an abutment for a coil spring 18, located within the housing 9 and confined between the lug 17 and an end wall 19 of the housing 9. This spring 18 is effective to bias the latch member 13 to a normally closed or locking position, such as is shown in FIGS. 5 and 8 of the drawings. At the opposite end of the strip 14 of the latch member 13 is a lateral lug portion 20 terminating in an inclined or angular plate 21 for a purpose to be explained.

As will be noted in FIG. 13, clearance is provided as shown at 23 under the wall 23a of the housing 9, such clearance existing under said wall and the surface of the back of the binder, and it constitutes a slot which permits the insertion of one end of a key 24 (FIGS. and 11) into the interior of the housing 9 as shown in FIG. 9. The key 24 has a hooked end 25 which is inserted into the housing 9, when it is desired to open the mechanism, and by swinging the key as indicated by the arrow 26 in FIG. 9, the hooked end 25 of the key will engage against the lug 20. Then when the key is pushed in the direction of the arrows 27, the latch member 13 will be urged to the right as viewed in FIG. 9, or retracted to permit the release of a hook-retainer frame or keeper 28 shown in detail in FIGS. 1 to 3 inclusive.

The top wall 29 of the housing 9 is formed with a pair of spaced slots indicated at 30, which slots are partly located in the top wall 29 and are partly formed in the front or inner wall 31 of the housing 9, as clearly seen in FIG. 8. Under the bias of the coil spring 18, the latch member 13 crosses the slots and retains an end portion of the bookretainer frame in the housing 9 in the manner clearly shown in FIG. 1.

The wire keeper or book-retaining frame consists of an elongated wire frame of substantially U-shape, thus being provided at one end with an off-set cross piece 32. The legs of the frame are each provided at the end remote from the cross piece, with a hooked portion 33.

At the second end of the back 1 of the binder is provided a second housing 35, the same being generally similar in shape and size to the housing 9. The housing 35 has a foot portion or flange 36 disposed flatly against the inner face of the back 1 of the binder and over the hinges thereon. Rivets 37 extend through the foot portion or flange 36 and attach the housing 35 to the back of the binder and against its inside face. The inner wall 38 of the housing 35 is formed with a pair of spaced holes 39 and the hooked ends 33 of the wire frame 28 extend through these holes and project into the interior of the housing 35.

From the foregoing, the operation of the binder will be readily apparent. It is primarily, but not necessarily, intended for the accommodation of relatively large books, such as directories or any other books of generally similar shape and size, one of which is shown at 40 in FIG. 12. In placing the book within the binder or holder, the wire retainer or keeper frame 28 is first placed in position with its legs extended between the pages of the book at the rear of the same as shown in FIG. 12. The hooked ends 33 of the frame 28 extend beyond the book at one end thereof, while the cross piece 32 of the keeper frame projects beyond the other end. The hooked ends 33 of the frame are passed through the holes 39 in the housing 35 to extend within said casing. The book is then swung in a manner to bring the portions of the legs of the frame which are located adjacent to the cross piece 32, down into the slots 30 to enter the housing 9. It will be understood that to do this the slots 30 must be cleared of the latch parts, this being attained by the retraction of the latch 13 by the use of the key 24 in the manner shown in FIG. 9. As soon as the frame 28 has had the crosspiece end parts inserted in the slots 30, the key 24 is removed and the spring 18 will bias the latch member 13 to the locking position shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, at which time the finger portions on the latch member will cross the slots 30 and will keep the end of the frame 28 in the housing 9 as shown in FIG. 1. The cross piece 32 will extend along the top or outside of the housing 9 as will also be apparent from FIG. 1.

To remove the book from the binder or holder merely requires the insertion of the key into the housing 9, then swinging the key in a manner to bring its hooked end part against the lug 20 of the latch member 13 and then depressing the latch member by force imposed on the key, to free the slots 30 and permit thewithdrawal of the frame 28 therefrom. The distance between the housings 9 and 35 and the length of the legs of the frame 28 may be such that the legs of the frame are slightly bowed when its opposite ends are located in the respective housings 9 and 35. This places a slight tension on the frame so that it is slightly raised from the pages of the book when the book is opened, and thus will not obscure the printing on the pages.

Any effort to open the latch by means of a thin and flat implement such as a nail file or knife blade capable of insertion through the key slot 23 will be frustrated because the blade will slide past the angular or inclined part 21 of the latch and will thus fail to depress or retract the latch.

The structure of the hinder or .book holder is such that it will support, hold and protect relatively large books or volumes and prevent the contents of the binder from being removed by unauthorized persons and particularly since a special key is required for the retraction of the latch to permit the removal of the frame 28.

The binder may be attached for security to a wall, desk or other fixed element by means of a chain or other flexible member 50 that is attached at one end to a loop 51 secured to an anchorage passed into the housing 9 through an aperture 52 provided in the outer wall thereof as shown in FIG. 13. The opposite end of the chain may be attached to an eyebolt 53 having the conventional nut and washers (not shown) for securing it to a suitable support thereby preventing unauthorized removal of the binder and its contents.

Having thus described a single embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claim.

What is claimed is:

1. A binder comprising, a covering including a back and covers hingedly connected thereto, the back being provided on its inner face adjacent to each of its opposite ends, with a rectangular housing, a book retainer consisting of a U-shaped wire frame having a pair of substantially parallel legs for extension between the pages of a book to be contained within the binder, one of the housings having a pair of holes through which the free ends of the legs of the frame enter to position the ends of said legs on the inside of said housing, the second housing having a pair of slots, each slot extending into a top Wall and on inner side wall through which the legs at their opposite ends pass into the latter housing, the legs being connected at the latter ends by an offset cross piece disposed out of the slots and on top of said top wall of the last-mentioned housing,.a slidable latch in the said housing, said latch being slotted to provide legs which extend across the parts of the frame adjacent to the cross piece, and thus retain the frame coupled to said housing, spring means in the said housing for biasing the latch to frame-engaging position, and key means for entry into the housing between the housing and the back of the binder to urge the latch into disengaged position in opposition to the bias of said spring means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 538,621 4/1895 Neilson 129-38 1,360,264 11/1920 Cannon 129-38 1,877,831 9/ 1932 Franz 129-38 2,016,588 10/1935 Bloore et al 129-38 2,413,157 12/ 1946 Thomsen 129-38 X 2,552,704 5/1951 Armstrong et a1. 129-38 2,841,152 7/1958 Popper 129-38 JEROME SCHNALL, Primary Examiner. 

